This invention relates in general to construction of buildings. More specifically, the invention relates to construction of eaves for roofs on buildings.
Eaves are common on many types of buildings. Eaves extend the roof line some distance beyond the walls of the underlying building, ensuring that water run-off from the roof falls at least a nominal distance from the building's walls. Water that falls near the walls may, over time, damage the walls and/or base of the building. Additionally, eaves may fulfill an aesthetic function.
Eaves may be constructed of a single piece that is attached to the edge of the roof of a building. This type of construction is economical for the builder, but may lead to warping of the eave. This can lead to misalignment of building parts and consequent exposure of the interior of the building to the outside environment. To remedy this problem, eaves are often constructed of multiple pieces to reinforce the structure of the eave and thereby prevent warping.
Present methods in the art involve roofing elements such as rafters penetrating through the sides of a building to frame an eave. This can be a time consuming and undesirable method of construction for multiple reasons. First, siding elements must be cut to a shape that allows the rafters to extend through the voids of the building. Irregularities in cutting these void shapes may additionally compromise any nominal seal between building pieces.
Alternatively, the siding components of the building may be cut shorter to allow rafters to pass over the siding. However, this results in an incomplete interior wall, with voids over the interior wall extending away from the interior in-between the rafters. In other present methods, a thin sheet may be attached to the underside of the eave. While this may assist in preventing the eave from warping, it will not add significant additional structural support to the eave. Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other issues.